RSA's chip shot

By Ellen Messmer, NetworkWorld.com, 06/28/06

RSA Security and Broadcom Corp. yesterday said they've entered an arrangement under which Broadcom is licensing the RSA SecurID technology for integration in the Broadcom BCM5890 secure processor. The idea is once the Broadcom chip is in a device the user purchases, the user could activate the one-time password token embedded in it instead of buying a separate handheld token.

According to RSA, the Broadcom chips could go into PCs, mobile-phone handsets, and probably a lot of other devices. The advantage is that users would be able to authenticate using dynamic passwords generated by the embedded chip rather than having to buy a separate handheld token to do this.

The idea will have appeal, especially for use with laptops owned by corporate employees accessing a network remotely. An embedded chip that does the work of a SecurID token also sounds appealing for use in the burgeoning number of hand-held devices, such as smartphones. The downside is if the laptop or other device with the Broadcom SecureID chip is lost or breaks, the SecurID token function goes with it, too.

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